Commemorative Medal for Missions or Operations regarding the operational defense of the territory

• Name — Commemorative Medal for Missions or Operations regarding the operational defense of the territory • Presenter — Kingdom of Belgium • Type — Military decoration • Eligibility — Military and civilian members of the Belgian Armed Forces • Awarded For — Participation in operations or missions outside of the territory of Belgium • Status — Active • Established — 28 March 2018 • Higher — Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions • Lower — Meritorious Service Medal • Caption2 — ribbon bar

The medal, established on 28 March 2018, was first awarded to military personnel having served in Operation Vigilant Guardian during a military parade organized on the Grand Place of Brussels and attended by several high-ranking officials, such as the secretary of Defence, the Chief of Defence, the mayor of Brussels and several high ranking Belgian officers. With the creation of the medal, the Belgian government abolished the former rule that military commemorative medals had to be bought by the recipient. Formerly, the recipient received only a brevet, allowing him to purchase the medal in a military store. With the creation of this medal, the government now provides for military commemorative medals.

The medal is circular and is struck from bronze, the obverse bears the Escutcheon-only version of the Coat of arms of Belgium under the royal crown and surrounded by the text MISSIONS OU OPERATIONS INTERIEURES BINNENLANDSE OPDRACHTEN OF OPERATIES. The reverse of the medal bears a laurel crown along the outer circumference. The blank area within the wreath may be used to engrave the recipients' name and date of the award. The ribbon is golden with three thin longitudinal stripes of black, yellow and red in the middle. The ribbon is adorned with an Arabic numeral (9 mm by 6 mm) that denotes the number of operations or missions the recipient has participated in. • Obverse — Reverse • —